MIL
Sunday, July 23, 2006
What is it about some people, that they can not see any of the goodness in life and dwell on the badness and gloom? Even when there isn’t really anything terrible going on, they create something; the carpet needs fixing, the towels in the bathroom don’t match the bath mat…you know, stuff like this. This is my mother-in-law (MIL). Well, Mr. C’s whole family, really. With the exception of Mr. C. He is the complete opposite. Imagine Mr. Bean on Christmas morning. How he emerged as this happy-go-lucky person, from the life-is-a-crisis family, is beyond me.
We went for dinner to Mr.C’s mother’s house last night. She asked about my brother and I explained that he isn’t doing well, not at all. Her eyes glazed over and she then quickly changed the topic to her own woes (some of which are perfectly appropriate to be woeful about, mind you). It is the fact that she seems to put equal emphasis on all manners of woe that astound me; the carpet needs to be replaced (Insert Huge sighs and groans), is followed by the fact that her brother died three weeks ago, but she couldn’t go to the funeral because she’d recently had cataract surgery (Sighs, groans…), and the cat was just put down the day before, and her house will never ever be the same again, and she’s stressed out about her oldest daughter moving again, and then there is the constant work around the house, and life is hectic, oh, so hectic and busy….
So as not to come across as unsympathetic (her brother and her cat died over the span of three weeks, I know, I know…), I need to explain something about her.
Her life is the proverbial glass half empty. She never sees anything as a positive, even when it is. After dinner, my father-in-law asked my son to sneak downstairs to help him with something; they came back beaming, with a cake in their hands; it was a surprise wedding anniversary cake. MIL immediately scowled and got upset about the fact that they don’t need a cake, we’d just eaten pie, and what a silly thing, basically, to have done…she berated him. Made him feel terrible, and meanwhile all he’d done was attempt to make her happy. Fifty-six years later, and he hasn’t given up.
I could go on here. I think perhaps forever, but she is a difficult entity to put into words and writing, and I think I’ve already risked sounding cold here. So I think I’ll just leave it at that. The fact is, she’s a very unhappy and pessimistic person; someone who’s difficult to be around. Do you know anyone like this?...
We went for dinner to Mr.C’s mother’s house last night. She asked about my brother and I explained that he isn’t doing well, not at all. Her eyes glazed over and she then quickly changed the topic to her own woes (some of which are perfectly appropriate to be woeful about, mind you). It is the fact that she seems to put equal emphasis on all manners of woe that astound me; the carpet needs to be replaced (Insert Huge sighs and groans), is followed by the fact that her brother died three weeks ago, but she couldn’t go to the funeral because she’d recently had cataract surgery (Sighs, groans…), and the cat was just put down the day before, and her house will never ever be the same again, and she’s stressed out about her oldest daughter moving again, and then there is the constant work around the house, and life is hectic, oh, so hectic and busy….
So as not to come across as unsympathetic (her brother and her cat died over the span of three weeks, I know, I know…), I need to explain something about her.
Her life is the proverbial glass half empty. She never sees anything as a positive, even when it is. After dinner, my father-in-law asked my son to sneak downstairs to help him with something; they came back beaming, with a cake in their hands; it was a surprise wedding anniversary cake. MIL immediately scowled and got upset about the fact that they don’t need a cake, we’d just eaten pie, and what a silly thing, basically, to have done…she berated him. Made him feel terrible, and meanwhile all he’d done was attempt to make her happy. Fifty-six years later, and he hasn’t given up.
I could go on here. I think perhaps forever, but she is a difficult entity to put into words and writing, and I think I’ve already risked sounding cold here. So I think I’ll just leave it at that. The fact is, she’s a very unhappy and pessimistic person; someone who’s difficult to be around. Do you know anyone like this?...
This entry was posted on Sunday, July 23, 2006 at 10:08 PM.
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11:13 PM
I feel your pain completely. I think my MIL and yours were seperated at birth. UGH! I swear, that woman make me want to slit my own wrists. She drones on and on and ON....I hate it. Thank GOD she lives 17 hours from here by car and HATES to fly. LOL!